Greening

Donald Johnson, Mary Johnson and Leo Rutherford (Homeowners) reside in the Lake Los Serranos mobilehome park. The park is operated by Jack W. Greening and June L. Greening, doing business as Lake Los Serranos Company (collectively, the Park). The Park brought this action against Homeowners to recover unpaid monthly charges for cable television. Homeowners appeal from summary judgment in favor of the Park, contending the charges were unlawful. We conclude the Mobilehome Residency Law (Civ. Code, § 798 et seq.) does not authorize a park owner to charge residents for nonessential services, such as cable television, which the residents do not want or use. We therefore reverse.

I

Factual and Procedural Background

In 1991, the Park decided to replace its “master antenna” television system with a cable system. According to the Park manager, the decision was made jointly with the resident association and reflected the consensus of the association. The residents were told the cost would be about $13.95 based on “100% park participation,” or $18.95 if there were “less than 100% participation.” According to the Park manager, the resident association preferred the “bulk” rate,…